Garage with movable supports



A. SERMET GARAGE WITH MOVABLE SUPPORTS Aug. 1, 1967 Filed Aug. 1, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet O O O O O O O O O FIGQ Aug. 1, 1967 A. SERMET 3,333,714

GARAGE WITH MOVABLE SUPPORTS Filed Aug. 1, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Aug. 1, 1967 A. SERMET 3,333,714

GARAGE WITH MOVABLE SUPPORTS Filed Aug. 1, 1966 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 United States Patent Ofi ice 3,333,714 Patented Aug. 1, 1967 3,333,714 GARAGE WITH MOVABLE SUPPORTS Andr Sermet, Clos Belmont 2, Geneva, Switzerland Filed Aug. 1, 1966, Ser. No. 569,510 3 Claims. (Cl. 21416.1)

This application is a continuation-in-part of my previous application Ser. No. 397,774, filed Sept. 21, 1964, now abandoned.

This invention relates to an electronically operated garage for parking vehicles.

Numerous types of garage are known in which it has been attempted by suitable means to make optimum use of the useful area of the garage by the vehicles to be housed, but without rendering it difiicult to manoeuvre the vehicles upon entering or leaving the garage.

Among the solutions hitherto known is the suggestion to provide for each wheel of a vehicle to be garaged, a small platform running on wheels on which the vehicle can be pushed into parking position.

It is also known to provide roller platforms for the whole vehicle, said mobile platforms for example being adapted to be moved on special rails let into the floor of the garage. The object of this is to be able to move the vehicle carried on the transportable platform in all directions.

These known garages with mobile supports, however are generally speaking not sufiiciently adaptable, or require a very complicated and expensive installation. The present invention is intended to overcome this drawback.

The main aspect of the invention is a garage which has a supporting understructure with rollers, which have a common horizontal plane of rolling and on which the individual supports intended for the vehicles rest and move according to the principles of the game of solitaire.

The invention will be described in more detail with reference to an embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 shows the schematic distribution of supports on a garage area;

FIGURE 2 shows a partial cross-section through the understructure carrying a mobile support, while FIGURE 3 shows a schematic view of the arrangement of the various elements of the understructure;

FIGURES 4-7 are perspective views showing the functioning of the device.

FIGURE 1 shows the theoretical arrangement of the vehicles stowed in the garage. Each rectangle 1 corresponds to the area available for one vehicle. The rectangles marked x are the parking places to be occupied, while those marked must be left free in order to permit the vehicles to be manoeuvred. The vehicles are parked doorto-door and bumper-to-bumper.

The garage surface or cage for one vehicle, corresponding to rectangle 1 in FIGURE 1, is formed by a support or platform 2 which can be shifted on an understructure 3 provided with rollers. The understructure with its rollers covers the whole useful area of the garage. In FIGURE 2 only two different elements of this understructure are shown.

Secured to this understructure 3 are on the one hand single rollers 4, the shaft of which 4a is mounted against a spring 4b which only act as supporting rollers for a support 2, and on the other hand double rollers 5, which drive a support 2. Both the single rollers 4 and the double rollers 5 are adapted to rotate by at least 90 around vertical axes with respect to a base plate 6 of the understructure 3 on ball or needle bearings 7 in a plane parallel to support 2. All the rollers have a common horizontal rolling plane, so that support 2 rests uniformly on the periphery of all the rollers.

A double roller element 5 consists, according to FIG- URE 2 of the two single rollers 12 and 13, which are rotatable around the common horizontal axis 14. The bearing support for the shaft 14, as also that for the axis of rotation of the single rollers 4, rest rotatably on the base plate 6 with the interpolation of said ball or roller bearings 7.

Centrally between the two rollers 12 and 13 of a double roller 5 is arranged a vertical shaft 8 which is guided by a sleeve 9 let in to the base plate 6 and which carries a bevel gear system at each of its two ends, i.e. underneath base plate 6 and above base plate 6. The lower bevel wheel 10 is driven by a motor 18. The rotation thereby produced of shaft 8 is transmitted via the upper bevel wheel 11 to a corresponding bevel gear connected with roller 12 so that the roller 12 is set in rotation around axis 14. The other roller 13 of the double roller 5 is freely rotatable around the axis 14.

FIGURE 3 shows a cut away of two supports according to the invention. As shown, each support rolls on a plurality of driving rollers 5 and of driven rollers 3, the latter preferably coinciding with the outer edges of the support. These rollers are all connected to suitable means which can turn them by so as to permit rotation of the platform in the directions shown by the arrows in FIG- URE 3. Suitably such means can be a steel cable 15 connected to driving rollers 5 and driven rollers 3 by pivoting control arms 16. Left to right, right to left, forward and back, directional movement of the supports is effected by the action of this cable which is moved when desired by linear motor 18A which is controlled from a distance by any suitable means which do not form part of this invention. The actual turning of driving wheels 5 is effected by motor 18 which is connected to control panel 17, which is connected to a main electronic control panel on which appears the number of each support and the position it assumes on the floor. Suitably a properly programmed computer can be used for this purpose but forms no part of this invention.

The number and arrangement of the single driven rollers 4 is so chosen that a uniform rolling movement of supports 2 and a uniform distribution of the load of the vehicle are obtained on a suflicient number of support ing points. The arrangement and number of the double driving rollers 5 must only satisfy the requirement that every support 2 can be safely driven in every possible position inside the garage. As shown, in FIGURE 3, thus the number of single rollers 4 is preferably chosen much greater than the number of driving double rollers 5.

The control of the drive of the double rollers 5, for example, can be effected from a common central desk, the particular position of the occupied support being indicated by a signalling system. The empty supports are collected at the entry to the garage.

The supports could of course be moved manually.

The transport device for garages as described can of course be arranged on each floor of a multi-store garage, each floor being supported by pillars such as F, in which case lifts will deal with the conveyance of the vehicles up and down. This is shown on FIGURES 4-7. There the lift is indicated by number 20 while each cage bears number 19.

In operation, as shownin FIGURE 4, to move the car A, the present device is put in action to move cars 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28 and 29 to the left and the row is thus cleared to the cage of lift 20, as shown on FIG- URE 5.

T 0 move out car X, shown on FIGURE 6, cars 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 and 26 are moved to the right and the row is cleared to the cage of lift 20 as shown on FIGURE 7. The supports once freed of their cars are stacked at the entrance, for example on both sides of cage 20. Cars can be parked and delivered at the rate of one each 10 seconds, and at a maximum, 2 minutes.

The supports can be brought up to their respective floors by securing racks at each corner of the lift and then driven on the understructurre of the floor toward a free cage.

What is claimed is:

1. A garage for parking vehicles comprising at least one floor area s-ubdivided into rows of rectangular areas adapted to receive each one vehicle, a plurality of vehicle supports with dimensions substantially the same as said rectangular areas adapted to fit in said rectangular areas, selected ones of said rectangular areas being normally vacant of said supports, a plurality of driving and driven rollers in each rectangular area for moving said supports from right to left, left to right, front and back along said rows, said supports being supported on the peripheral edges of said driving and driven rollers, motor means connected to said driving and driven rollers for angularly shifting the same simultaneously for directing said movement, motor means for rotating said driving rollers and electronic control means for actuating said motor means.

2. Garage according to claim 1 wherein said driving and said driven rollers are connected to a motor driven cable by levers -for angularly shifting them.

3. Garage according to claim 1, comprising a plu' rality of floor areas as set forth therein and elevator means for bringing to and removing platform from each of said areas.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS GERALD M. FORLENZA, Primary Examiner.

R. B. JOHNSON, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A GARAGE FOR PARKING VEHICLES COMPRISING AT LEAST ONE FLOOR AREA SUBDIVIDED INTO ROWS OF RECTANGULAR AREAS ADAPTED TO RECEIVE EACH ONE VEHICLE, A PLURALITY OF VEHICLE SUPPORTS WITH DIMENSIONS SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME AS SAID RECTANGULAR AREAS ADAPTED TO FIT IN SAID RECTANGULAR AREAS, SELECTED ONES OF SAID RECTANGULAR AREAS BEING NORMALLY VACANT OF SAID SUPPORTS, A PLURALITY OF DRIVING SAID DRIVEN ROLLERS IN EACH RECTANGULAR AREA FOR MOVING SAID SUPPORTS FROM RIGHT TO LEFT, LEFT TO RIGHT, FRONT AND BACK ALONG SAID ROWS, SAID SUPPORTS BEING SUPPORTED ON THE PERIPHERAL EDGES OF SAID DRIVING AND DRIVEN ROLLERS, MOTOR MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID DRIVING AND DRIVEN ROLLERS FOR ANGULARLY SHIFTING THE SAME SIMULTANEOUSLY FOR DIRECTING SAID MOVEMENT, MOTOR MEANS FOR ROTATING SAID DRIVING ROLLERS AND ELECTRONIC CONTROL MEANS FOR ACTUATING SAID MOTOR MEANS. 